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The introduction of the new hexavalent 6-in-one vaccine ‘Infanrix’ poses an unacceptable risk to the health of British children. There have been no safety studies on combined doses of vaccines administered together in this manner.

The addition of more vaccines for younger babies may have a more sinister motive. By vaccinating newborns before they have the chance to display their personality and behavioural traits fully, the chance of a parent recognising their child’s potential regression post-vaccination, is diminished greatly. In other words if there is a neurological disorder, it will be put down to the child being ‘born that way’.

I would never inject my newborn with a hepatitis b containing vaccine, here’s why…

The hepatitis b vaccine contains the adjuvant and known neurotoxin, aluminium which may have undesirable affects on the developing newborn brain.

The equivalent of giving a newborn any single vaccine (let alone a set of combined vaccines) would be to inject a 180lb adult with 30 vaccines on the same day.

Most newborns are not at high risk of contracting this disease. The hepatis b vaccine was originally created for sex workers and I.V drug users who are at high risk of contracting hep b disease through needles or sexual transmission of bodily fluids.

The most likely way a newborn would contract hep b is via infection from the mother who is typically aware of her hep b status either before or during pregnancy when she is offered a test.

If a mother wishes to offer her baby the natural immune protection of breastfeeding, the vaccine can interfere with early breastfeeding by causing side effects such as lack of appetite.

This disease is not high risk for babies and children and would be more affective offered to adolescents who wish to practice unprotected sex.

The science does not support hepatitis b vaccination:

The risks of the vaccine given to newborns are unacceptable when compared with the efficacy as demonstrated in numerous studies found on pub med. Including:
A 2014 study titled, ‘duration of protection after infant hepatitis B vaccination series‘, found only 24% of adolescents had protective anti-HB levels. It stated that 92% achieved protective levels after a challenge dose. (ncbi study). Another study found 40% had protective anti-HB levels 15 years after their primary vaccination series of shots, meaning 60% did not. (Second study).

In newborn babies, it is notoriously more difficult to achieve an adult-like response, because the immune system just isn’t there to be stimulated. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) document, titled Vaccine immunology: On page 32,

“Antibody responses elicited before 12 months of age rapidly wane and antibody titers soon return close to baseline levels.” And: “The induction of strong antibody responses to a single vaccine dose that would be given soon after birth unfortunately currently remains an elusive goal, and adult-like responses may eventually be only elicited in older infants”.

It’s time to stand up to the unecessary infliction of toxic chemicals and viruses on babies with such immature immune systems, operating at only 60% at one year, let alone younger. Nowhere in nature is an organism bombarded with so many diseases at once such as occurs during the administering of a combined vaccination.

When making an informed vaccine decision always read the package inserts not just the vaccine information sheets before making a decision. You can’t unvaccinate your child but can always decide to vaccinate later on.

Yeah, I’m totally going there. I know this vaccination subject is pretty touchy with the undertones of intolerance, discrimination, and bigotry and all, but after seeing a letter written to a “mom who decided not to vaccinate her kids against measles,” I just couldn’t sit by while parents are thrown under the bus and innocent kids get sick and die.

To be perfectly frank, I was a bit offended that this letter wasn’t written to dads too but for the sake of prioritizing stupid, there are more important things to address…like the fact that kids in this country do not “get sick and die” from measles. Hello? When was the last time a kid died from measles in America? Here’s a clue…it wasn’t yesterday. Disney ain’t deadly and neither are the measles.

It’s true that despite our child’s absence of shoes, I am still transitioning to becoming more barefoot myself. As an adult who was raised with shoes on most of the time, it takes time and patience to train the feet back to being comfortable in their natural state.

Like most people I have worn shoes since a young child and been conditioned into believing I must do so to protect my feet and prevent illness occurring due to over exposure to the elements.

From a young child I always had an aversion to my feet being completely incased in shoes.

Like others, I had free feet indoors and was encouraged to put shoes on whenever the weather was cold, wet or the terrain looked undesirable. I hated the transition from Spring and Summer into Autumn and Winter and frequently fell ill around these times. Of course there are a multitude of factors why this can happen; weather/temperature changes, less exposure to sunlight and less seasonal, fresh food available.

But why is it I began to wonder that our bodies can’t naturally adapt to these seasonal cycles and stay in balance?

A few years ago, I began to experiment with taking away some modern ‘conveniences’, one being central heating and the other being shoes and the amount of time spent grounding directly on the earth outside.

Since having kids I have also started to ask questions about which modern inventions were helping us and which ones were hindering us. I noticed that my post-walking babies suddenly began to ‘moon’ walk and trip over much more when we placed them in shoes so I kept them out of shoes for as long as possible, until they started to want to imitate those around them.

Today my five year old wears shoes as much as most other kids do and goes barefoot occasionally, mostly in parks and at the sea. Since wearing shoes more I have observed he has struggled much more with thermo-regulation and caught colds more frequently, unlike when he was a baby and toddler.

My second child (16 months old) does own shoes and ironically does have a shoe fascination but we have thus far kept her barefoot time exceeding shoe wearing time.

Witnessing these transitions for my children has made me think….could I help them stay connected to nature better by increasing my own barefoot exposure?

Recently I got in touch with a lady called Bea Marshall who coaches in a style of parenting called “Yes” parenting. She has lived barefoot now for 6 years, and she did all this starting off with just two weeks of going completely barefoot.

Inspired by her story, I set myself a one week barefoot challenge: wearing nothing but the soles of my feet on my lower extremities, indoors and outdoors, whatever the weather.

Luckily I picked a good week for warmer weather, although on day seven I did encounter some rain which actually came as a refreshing welcome after a week of hot pavements.

What did I discover?

I began the week with a pair of flip flops (thongs) and wipes in my bag just in case it all got a bit too much. I walked the dog twice every day and managed to avoid stepping on dog poop! I went food shopping (luckily my local markets don’t have barefoot restrictions. I even took a few strolls over Brighton’s famous pebble beach without so much as even a pair of beach shoes. As the week progressed I began to feel the nerve endings on the soles of my feet tingling and awakening. Luckily I work from home so I didn’t have to worry about any strict dress codes or having to sneak off shoes under the office desk! I did however experiment with making pretend shoe-illusions on my feet using ribbons and face paints in case of needing to go somewhere which required footwear such as a bar or pub. The week was not without pain, including stepping on a thorn and hot footing it over sharp, stoney pavements and shards of glass but only a few days in and my body began to feel more relaxed, energised and alert. I slept better and had smoother skin and softer hair.

I overcame obstacles along the way including learning to relax about others perceptions of myself and learning how to slow down when the body starts to heal. I realised that in order to walk safely barefoot, you must be 100% mindful and present in every step you take. This deliberation slowed me down and bought more calmness into my life, making me less stressed and less snappy at those around me.

Will I continue the barefoot revolution?

I embarked on this challenge with the intention to discover how I would feel and what would change for me without my shoes. One day I hope to be completely barefoot but for now I live in the city and city life is dirty…not in a wholesome, muddy sense but in a wasteful, non-biodegradable sense. There was all sort of undesirable objects along my path including: spit, broken bottles and split rubbish bags adorning many of the streets. When my youngest goes barefoot I oftern carry her in a sling along the streets and set her down when we arrive at our destination so she does not become exposed to dangerous objects.

After waking up my feet to their full potential I cannot however, go back to wearing my old thick soled, insulated shoes. For now I will choose the middle path and try to go barefoot as much as possible and will wear footwear that allows my feet more freedom and movement. One thing I have learnt from this week is how much cleaner and cared for our environment would be if only people took the time to remove their shoes more often, re-connect with nature and pay full attention to every step we take.

Since introducing our off-grid parenting style, and appearing on the this morning show (where our daughter took centre stage by peeing through her nappy on the floor), our family have been touted as the parents who don’t do potty training. This is not entirely false, we actually don’t engage in any form of child training including sleep training and potty training since adopting the child-led parenting philosophy.

Last week I received an email from a researcher on ITV this morning that read….

“Sorry to bother you out of the blue, but we’re trying to cast a debate for Monday’s show and I was keen to get your thoughts.

In a nutshell, one of our team saw a child using a potty in the middle of a busy restaurant the other day and so we want to put together a debate on whether or not this is acceptable. I just wondered how you went about potty training your children and if you think using a potty whenever/wherever is OK?”

Conventional potty training didn’t work for our son so we took the ‘toilet learning’ approach and allowed him to transition in his own way and in his own time which took until he was around four year old. My youngest toddler has had some nappy free time this summer and doesn’t like sitting on a potty yet so we provided her with alternatives such as a waterproof mat or going out in the garden. She is now choosing to sit on a potty when she has a nappy on.

As long as children are exposed to healthy, social role modelling I believe they have an innate intelligence and desire to integrate and learn the skills they need to achieve both independence and cohesion in society, without the need for adult coercion. That said we all have different ways of achieving the same goal and for some potty training fits in perfectly with their family and their lifestyle.

The ITV this morning debate ensued on this topic of public potty training and created quite a stir.
Professional potty trainer, Amanda Jenner quite rightly pointed out that parents are potty training under stressful and chaotic environments and should not be expected to put their whole life on hold and not go out whilst their child is transitioning out of nappies.

Journalist and mum of one, Kelly Rose Bradford was quick to judge and labelled any such incidence as ‘ performance parenting’, going on to say “For me it just totally smacks of this total entitlement performance parenting, that we all seem to be totally subjected to all the time now and other people’s children’s needs come before anybody else’.

I personally wouldn’t encourage my child to go to the toilet near to where others are eating however, that doesn’t mean I would judge another who finds themselves in that situation. Perhaps the parent in question has a child who has a phobia of public toilets and there was no suitable alternative or maybe the child was desperate and couldn’t make it to the toilet in time. Would we prefer they wee all over the restaurant floor through their clothes?

Furthermore, the whole issue of eating and going to the toilet in the same place brings up the hypo racy of our society: many consider it perfectly acceptable to expect breastfeeding women to feed their child in a toilet which is surely the same thing an adult being expected to eat close to where a child is using a potty.

The whole idea of adult supremacy and that children’s needs should never take precedence over the needs of fully mature adults, seems ridiculous to me. Surely as grown adults we should be accepting that the needs of anybody’s young children come before our own preferences and opinions of what is unacceptable and unpleasant to those surrounding them….After all, there is nothing performance related about that, it’s simply called empathy and compassion!

My children have never visited a doctor, not even for a check-up, never been vaccinated and never taken any drugs – not even over-the-counter drugs. This may sound like child abuse to many if you fail to recognise that these kids are much healthier than the average child and are also being raised very differently to the average child.

As a family we are definitely unconventional when compared to the average family. We ditch the 9-5 mortgage-focused, structured rat race. We choose to work on self-development rather on curriculums and timetables. We choose to eat whole and raw plant based food over fast food. We detoxify and cleanse regularly and listen to our bodies cues for hunger, fasting and tiredness. We seek emotional and spiritual healing rather than blaming our genes. We forage wild herbs and foods for our medicine. We choose to live with faith rather than fear.

You have probably already heard of the Placebo effect where the very positive suggestion of some medicine or treatment being made actually influences the patient to manifest that healing reality but you may not have heard of the Nocebo effect. The Nocebo effect is occurring in hospitals and doctors surgeries everyday where fear tactics are used to plant a negative self-fulfilling prophecy into the patient’s psyche of the ‘potential’ dangers/risks of the diagnosis or potentiality of not taking up a course of recommended treatment.

I recently experienced this myself at the local dentist; eg: dentist – “you have signs of tooth decay and will need to have fillings” patient – “no thank you, I don’t wish to have any fillings” dentist – “If you don’t have fillings you will suffer from excruciating nerve exposure and will be back complaining to me” patient – “thanks for the advice (warning/coercion)”.
Don’t get me wrong, this approach is necessary for those who do not wish to take responsibility and accountability for their actions and choices, but not for everyone.

Aside from not wanting to fulfil a negative prophecy around my kid’s health, I also choose not to use treatments, as a first port of call, that do nothing more than suppress the symptoms and ignore the true, root cause of the problem.

I also wish to protect my kids from the-not-uncommon phenomena of ‘medical kidnapping’ by the state who believe they know what is best for a child above and beyond the parent’s instinctual, intimate knowledge of their own offspring. The only real way to guarantee protection from your children from being forcibly treated is to abandon the system from where they are abducted. There are so many cases of medical kidnapping being made public in the media, one such case (Ashya King) involved the whole family fleeing the UK to go to Spain to seek the cancer treatment they desired for their son rather than accept the orthodox cancer treatments that the conventional health services inflict on adults and children alike which violently attacks the whole body.

In keeping my children out of a doctors registration and care, I am claiming back my rights as a parent to be the one who decides what is best for my children’s health and wellbeing.

Our decision not to vaccinate goes beyond the scope of this article but I can safely say that it was well researched from all avenues and not taken lightly. I honestly believe that my first child would not be with us today had I had allowed him to be vaccinated on the recommended schedule. He is highly sensitive and had a tough time sleeping and remaining settled through his younger years. He also experienced baby asthma and allergies. He has so far contracted both chicken pox and scarlet fever and made a speedy recovery from all illnesses without any drugs and any harm caused. As a result of overcoming childhood diseases he has now become a very healthy five year old with no medical complaints. For those parents who truly want to make an informed decision when it comes to this important decision, there is now such a wealth of information available online including documentaries such as ‘vaccine nation’ and ‘vaxxed’ and the very informative website http://www.nvic.org.

Growing up I frequently visited doctors, dentists and optometrists and as a result ended up with strong vision correction from 18 months old, a mouth full of fillings and a crown and constant fatigue and digestive disturbances. The sad truth is that these practitioners don’t make money unless we are sick and the more they interfere, the worse our health becomes and the more reliant we become on further intervention.

When it comes to fevers and fasting we view them as a healing opportunity for the body to cleanse rather than a potential danger. A fever is the body’s natural inferno which is created to burn through morbid and diseased matter in the body before excretory pathways such as sweating, mucous deposits and eliminating faeces help to sweep out the waste in order to cleanse the body of it’s previously acidic, disease-inducing state.

The body will naturally desire to fast (decline solid food) during a fever in an attempt to free-up digestive energy for cleansing the body effectively. As long as the fever is not a dry fever ie. plenty of fluid is taken on board to assist in temperature maintenance and the fever stays within the recommended parameters (see link for more info: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/10/26/scary-symptoms-that-are-really-no-big-deal.aspx), a fever is normally a safe and necessary detoxifying modality for the human body to undergo in times of disease.

Medical care has its place and we believe emergency care is important for unnatural incidences where we know the cause such as car accidents. For all else, we choose to doctor ourselves first and only use medical assistance should we feel that the condition is outside of our coping capacity. We have previously taken our eldest to hospital once during an asthmatic breathing attack, triggered by a mould allergy to have him checked out after our usual natural methods of opening up the lungs in a steam room failed to alleviate the symptoms sufficiently.

I choose to safeguard my children’s health using attachment parenting methods such as safe co-sleeping, baby wearing and full-term, on-demand breastfeeding. We also acknowledge the importance of emotional and mental wellbeing by seeking to understand the role of psychological thought patterns and trauma in manifesting physical disturbance. We believe every disease has a corresponding mental invitation at the root of it (see Louise L.Hay for more info). We also choose to opt out of the structured, educational establishments whilst immersing in nature. Furthermore we strive to make material sacrifices so we can provide full-time, at-home child care which enables us to tune into our children’s individual day-to-day requirements for remaining balanced and healthy.

However you choose to look after your children’s health is entirely up to you but I would recommend that whatever path you take, do not trust blindly. When deciding who to trust always follow the money trail; where there is greed for money and power, corruption and misconduct often follow closely alongside. Don’t settle for side effects that are as bad as the disease itself and research every avenue you come across including such documentary series as ‘The truth about Cancer: A global quest’. Ulterior motives can be tough to unearth, but when it comes to your families health, uncovering the real motives behind the pharmaceutical industry can result in a matter of life or death. I wish you all great health.

(Disclaimer: I am not a medical practitioner and do not intend to give medical advice. I am a concerned parent who wishes to share my experience of raising my children unconventionally. All references given are not necessarily sourced from peer reviewed studies and come from the information I have gained along my parenting journey.)

The word “discipline” originates from the Latin word disciplina which means “instruction” and derives from the root discere which means “to learn.” The word discipulus which means “disciple or pupil” also stems from this word. So in a very fundamental sense, discipline can be considered systematic instruction given to a disciple. Discipline does not have to imply punishment.

Discipline works best when it’s tailored to suit the age and accommodate any special needs each child may have. For example, a toddler has no impulse control and little empathetic development so should not be expected to be capable of sharing and waiting long periods or sitting still. Furthermore, Children who have sensory processing issues should not be expected to be capable of remaining still and calm in unfamiliar and busy environments, also around crowds of people.

Behind every behaviour is an unmet need.

Every child’s ‘bad’ behaviour reflects an unmet need with a positive intention of fulfilling that need. Crying and winging don’t just happen because a child is deliberately trying to upset their parent, rather it is a form of communication to let the parent know that something is out of balance and they need help to fix it. Often the imbalance may even be a reflection of the parent’s mood or behaviour so self-reflection is a great practice to engage in should you wish to get to the root of your child’s behavioural issue. In times of meltdown I always check in with my own feelings and wellbeing before I continue to talk with my child about what’s going on in his mind.

Equality does not mean the same but does include respect. Respect is shown in many ways, the way we communicate being one of the most important when it comes to building strong relationships with others. Non-violent communication is a method of resolving conflicts and disputes in a respectful manner. You can find out more about the nvc formula of effective communication here…..Nvc

Positive discipline sees the child as an equal human being who deserves the same respect as you would give another adult. At the same time, positive discipline seeks to move away from exerting power over a child, instead coming from a position of authority to guide, discuss and compromise in order to find a solution that respects the needs of everyone involved.

No shaming or coercion.

Positive discipline does not use punishment (physical or mental), rewards, shame or bribery as a method to deter or control unwanted behaviour. Naughty steps are never used, instead the adult is encouraged to take time out and come back when they are calm enough to speak rationally and respectfully with their child.

Let me illustrate some of these principles with a basic example: my children find the bag of flour in the kitchen cupboard and want to play with it so begin throwing some over the floor. Instead of saying ‘no you can’t do that’ I find a yes to go with that no, identify the unmet need and also give an explanation to go with it. ‘No you cannot throw flour inside because it will be difficult to clean up on the carpet but you may play with it in the garden’ (unmet need = lack of mental stimulation and the need for messy play and exploration).

Discipline for 0-3years: Avoid saying no too much, instead distract.

With toddlers and pre-school aged kids, distraction may also be a useful tool to manage negative behaviour just so long as the adult does not use it to suppress the child from releasing their emotions. Validate feelings when a child is angry, upset or sad by saying what you see again e.g. We must go home now for dinner, I see you are sad that you can’t stay and play longer’ and then offer a choice if possible e.g. ‘Would you like to pick the slide, the swings or the climbing frame as your last thing to play on before we leave?’

Motivating your child to be their best.

The problem with the use of Rewards to encourage good behaviour is that they only work on the principle of extrinsic motivation ie. ‘If you do X then you will receive Y’. This method inhibits intrinsic motivation which is an inner desire to help for the sake of feeling good. With extrinsic motivation the child comes to always expect something in return for his or her co-operation, with intrinsically motivated kids, they need only to understand the reasoning behind the request rather than be bribed. Bribery is very different to giving occasional treats though. Treats can be offered without condition for exceptional behaviour or achievements such as helping someone out in need or courageously making it through a traumatic time.

Saying well done in an effective way.

Praise can be good but also can be negative, especially if it’s overuse results in the child becoming dependent on it to fuel their self-esteem. Often it’s better to ask the child how they feel about their achievement rather than just giving your opinions. Praise is fine on occasion but so long as it’s not empty praise statements, lacking specifics such as ‘good boy’ or ‘good job’. We must explain to kids what they are doing well and describe our observations without focusing on the outcome but the effort instead e.g. ‘I see that you found climbing that net really tough but you didn’t give up!’

It’s not you I don’t like, it’s your behaviour.

When you are discussing issues with your child try to label the behaviour, not the child. Behaviour can be changed but a personality quality cannot. E.g ‘you acted irresponsibly when you ran across the road without stopping’ rather than just ‘you were naughty crossing the road like that’.

Do we have rules?

Of course we do, our rules are mutually agreed on and follow basic courtesy for other beings. Every family must decide what rules are important for them. Here are some of ours:

*Take shoes off inside the house.
*Do no harm to others.
*Respect other people’s needs, property and boundaries.
*Allow others to sleep in quiet, if you need to make noise then go somewhere else.

Do we set limits?

We follow a child-led, unschooled approach to lifestyle. We feel strongly that limits should not be set on issues such as bedtimes, food intake and choice and screen time. We wish for our children to learn to listen to their own body’s needs over someone else’s ideas of what is appropriate for them. This way we believe they will not lose touch with their own wellbeing e.g. hunger and tiredness cues. I do admit that screen time has been the most uncomfortable issue for us as we are great nature lovers. Technology does have a lot to offer in terms of learning opportunities but also has a downside of restricting a child’s movement, interaction with others and exposing them to electromagnetic pollution. Despite this we have found that as long as we continue to offer a range of activities and social opportunities, our son regulates his own screen time quite nicely.

Of course we all falter when it comes to implementing our ideals but the important thing is that we always try to catch our mistakes and become aware of how to move forward in a positive and peaceful direction. If we want to build a relationship of mutual respect with our children well into adulthood then we must start now, for our children’s sake and ours too.

Our family live a frugal lifestyle in Brighton, as close to nature as possible. Since our appearance on itv this morning where we discussed our “off-grid” parenting style we have received many queries asking how we manage to sustain ourselves financially.

We both get paid, working part-time. I write for parenting sites such as mom.me in my little spare time that I have in between full-time child care and home education. Matt is a freelance yoga instructor and health coach. It is important to us at we both have equal opportunity to raise the children and give them quality time.

We also rely partly on some benefits including housing benefit, child benefit and child tax credit. We do not use the tax payers money for the education system or medical system when it comes to our kids. We do pay reduced council tax and use libraries, museums and parks. The majority of our money goes on the basics like food, amenities and public transport, where required.

We don’t have a TV but do have computers. We get by shopping a lot at budget stores out of necessity but this does not imply that we agree with their ethics as businesses. Much of our furniture, the kids toys and clothes are either free cycled or second hand or gifted from their nan. We don’t take holidays, nor have a car. We live in a modest one bed flat with a garden in a location where we have good access to everything we need. We regularly forage wild food and also grow some of our own food in the garden. We home cook a lot and rarely eat out. We are in debt like much of the country including student loans and overdraft and do our best to pay back what we can afford.

We are living in a country with an unfair family taxation system that does not support home education or recognise those providing care for the family, including home educators.
I would like to take the opportunity to promote a cause close to my heart, http://www.mothersathomematter.co.uk

At the end of the day, we as humans have created a system where we are the only species who pay for our basic survival requirements and we all need money to live. We don’t have inheritance, trust funds and savings to draw upon so we have started a crowdfunding campaign through http://www.fundmytravel.com to help us become self-sufficient and in return we intend to build a business which shares advice and knowledge to help others do the same. We hope everyone who desires to make their lives better can find the courage to reach out and improve their situation also in whatever way they can.